Harry Hodges

How to Revitalize Your Bank’s CX Strategy

As digital innovation continues to evolve, so does the way consumers interact with the brands and businesses around them. While banks and other financial institutions have made efforts to adapt to this ever changing landscape, not all digital transformation strategies are created equal. Which is why we thought it might be helpful to share a few key insights and approaches that have proven successful for those financial institutions that have a true mastery of the digital landscape and how each channel should interact with each other.

1. Provide Consistent Service Across All Channels

Research shows that consumers expect (but don’t always receive) a consistent level of service regardless of how they’re engaging their bank–whether by visiting the brick-and-mortar, going online or talking over the phone. However, leading banks have managed to provide a full customer experience by truly understanding how to optimize each channel and the service that accompanies it.

For example, simple day-to-day transactions should be reliably satisfied through the bank’s mobile app, while more complex interactions requiring expertise and guidance should encourage branch visits. Capital One is a great example as a financial institution that has been highly-lauded for their app while also reimagining their in-branch experience with their famed Capital One Cafés.

The real leaders in the space take it a step further and have their channels working together harmoniously. Leading banks and credit unions have begun implementing technology like appointment scheduling to drive online users who encounter complex issues into their branches. These are the institutions who are truly able to refer to their strategies as omnichannel.

2. Exceptional In-Branch Experiences

While data shows that in-branch traffic has significantly decreased due to online options, branches are an increasingly valuable asset for upsell opportunities and still serve as a place to establish customer trust.

In the US alone, 67% of customers would visit their bank branches more often if they were afforded more access to trained staff. This is a huge opportunity for banks, but they simply need to optimize their staff to allow that higher level of customers interaction. Oriental Bank, one of the largest banks in Puerto Rico, was facing similar challenges to have the ability to afford their customers enough facetime while maintaining the other aspects of everyday business at their banks. They opted to introduce an appointment scheduling solution for their in-branch services, which resulted in decreased customer wait time by a whopping 80%, while also allowing staff the time to be better prepared to serve their customers’ needs.

3. Community Building Through Events & Education

One of the largest opportunities identified for the financial industry, specifically banks and credit unions, was hosting events to further connect with customers and build a community around branch locations. Across the US and UK, only 11% of respondents had ever been invited to a bank’s event, yet 85% said they would consider attending if invited. This presents an opportunity for established banks to better connect with their customers, and educate them on their best course for financial planning. While bank branches have been closing at an increasing rate, progressive banks are changing how they operate, banks like T.D. Bank work towards integrating themselves into the community through branch opening celebrations. Providing foundational and advanced classes, and advising through all channels can further establish trust between institutions and their customers. This ultimately achieves the personal peace of mind we all crave around having confidence in our future financial planning – a key element to maintaining a lengthy and mutually beneficial relationship.

Additional Research Insights

As you can see, the financial industry, like all others, will continue to evolve as consumer behavior and demand evolve. We feel it’s so important to not only stay connected to what’s happening in the market, but to ask customers directly what they want.

If you’re interested in more tips like the above, BookingBug has recently completed our 2nd year of independent consumer research that highlights insights from 2,000 qualified respondents in the US and UK to provide a global view into the evolutionary changes occurring in retail banking. Join our CEO, Glenn Shoosmith and CMO, Todd Nicholson in a live webinar on June 12th as we unveil the results.